Locking mechanism for dumping-cars.



C. P. ASTROM. LOCKING MECHANISM FOR DUMPING CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNEH. I914- Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I 51mm nfoz C. P. ASTROM. LOCKING MECHANlSM FOR DUMPING CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE H. I914. 1,248,478. Patented Oct.16,1917.

3SHEETSSHEET 2 8 3 E1 2;. Eng. 3, i8 15 i 13 6 3 QR) i i-14 Qooeo:

C. -P. ASTROM. LOCKING MECHANISM FOR DUMPING CARS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11. I914.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

imrrnn STATES lATENT OFFICE.

CARL P. ASTROM, OF EAST ORANGE, NEWJERS EY, ,ASSIGNOR TO M. H. TREAD'WELL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

LOOKING MECHANISM FOR DUMPING-CABS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnte'd Oct, 16, 1917.

Application medium 11, 1914. 3 Serial No. 844,439.

dumping cars which is capable of being re-' leased by the operator when the-car is to be dumped without danger of injury from the contents of the car, and which automaticallylocks the car in upright position.

Various forms of lockshave heretofore been devised for this purpose, but the presentinvention has reference to an improved form of locking mechanism'which is particularly advantageous in connection with tilting and bodily movable car'bodies which are operated by a traveling cylinder. In its broad aspect, the invention is. applicable to various types of dumping carsand 11110- tors, but the form of the invention herein shown readily combines'with a reclprocat;

ing cylinder motor.

According to the present invention, which is herein illustrated in two specificembodiments. the reciprocatory motor is positively locked against movement at the portion of its stroke which corresponds to the upright position of the car body, and is held locked against accidental or malicious manipulation of the releasing mechanism by the pressure of the cushioning springs which are commonly used in this type of car. i The power is first applied on one side to relieve the pressure of the springs on the .latch, and then thelatch is lifted and power applied to the reverse side of the stationary piston to dump the car body.'v During the movement, the locking mechanism is, automatically set to. automaticallylock the car body at the predetermined point Uponreversing the motor, the car bodyreturns to upright position and atthe .same time its momentum is sufiicient to compress the butter springs-so that the latch can fall and engage the cylinder against return movement. Thus, accidental release of the car body is avoided. In one form shown herein, the latch is directly connected with an operating lever, while inranother form the latch is indirectly connected with an operating lever so that in case the operator should retainahold of the lever, hewould not get'a kick from the mechanism as it moves.

The invention isshown herein by way ofexample in a dumping mechanism hereto= fore patented to me in Patent No. 889,866, dated June 2, 1908, which shows a releasable or-shiftable power transmitting connection between the reciprocating cylinder and the car body trunnion, whereby a full stroke of the cylinder is utilized to dump the car in either direction from the center, the connection being changed from one end to the other of the cylinder according to the side on which the car is to be dumped. The present invention is not restricted to this particulartorm of dumping mechanism, and. the same is merely shown herein by way of illustration.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is an'end elevation of a dumping car embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation;

Fig. 3 shows the shiftable power transmitting connection;

Fig. 4 isa perspective view showing the latching mechanism;

Fig.5 is a perspective view showing a modified form of latichingmechanism intended to prevent transmission of a kick or blow to the operator, and

Figs. 6, 7,8, 9 and 10 are detail views showing successive positions of the parts.

1 represents the car body or ladle which is supported in a-yoke or bail 2, and which bail is supported on trunnions3 carried by opposite end frames at of the car body. The car body is provided with racks 5 on which roll gears 6,'there beingone gear at each end of the yoke 2. The dumping motor is at one end of the car body. and comprises a cylinder 7 which reciprocates on guides 8 .carried by'end frames 9. 10 is a stationary piston rod extending across the machine betweenthe frames 9, and carrying within the cylinder 7 a stationary piston (not-shown). The piston rod 10 is hollow and is connected ,at each endby pipe ll'to a fluid pressure i controlling valve 12, by which power is supplied to one or the other side of the piston 1 1 according to the direction in which the,

car body is to dump, and need not be further described herein, except to say that the pin 13 is connected to lugs 15 carried by therear side of the cylinder 7 and transmits the actuating power.

The latching mechanism comprises a lug 17 cast on the cylinder 7 and a latch 18 mounted on a rock shaft 19, the rock shaft- 19 being operated by a lever 20. It should be stated that in both forms the latch acturi ating mechanism and also levers 21 for con trolling'the valve 12 are mounted on each side of the car, and both operate in the same manner. The bottom of the latch 18 is provided with a curved surface, as shown at l1, so that whenthe cylinder 7 moves to the left in Fig. A to, dump, the latch will be lifted by the lug 17 but the lug 17 is made of such length that when in extreme dumped position the latch 18 will be resting on the top of lug 17. The lug and latch are slightly undercut, as shown, so as to remain in engagement without slipping. Between the end frames 9 and the ends of the cylinder,

which slide on the guides 8, are placed the f v usual bufier springs 23,'wh1ch cushion the movements of the cylinder 7 at both the end of the outward dumping movement and the.

end of the inward movement- These springs yield on the inward movement until the latch 18 drops behind lug 17, and then the rebound of the spring presses lug 17 against latch 18 and holds it down, as. will be Seen' in Fig. 2. The lever 20 is automatically latched against accidental operation by a small safety latch 24 which is pivoted at 25,

and having a hook 26 on oneend. With the parts as shown in Fig. 1, the car being uprightjand to be dumped to the left, the

operator must first apply power on therightside of the stationary piston to compress the right-hand spring 23 so as to permit the lever 20 to be moved to the left in Fig. 2 to lift latch18. Even when the pressure of the latch 18 against lug '17 is released so that the latch might be lifted, the operator must then throw the safety latch 24 upward before he can move the lever 20 to the left from the dotted to the solid position in Fig. 1. Thereupon, the hookflb engages with pin 27 on lever 20' and prevents the lever .20

from being thrown back to its previous posi tion by the weight of the main latch 18. Power can now be applied to the left side of the stationary piston to movecylinder 7 and therar body to the left in Figs. 1 and -l.

As the lug 17 moves under the curved surface 41 during the outward dumping movement, the main latch '18 'is'slightly lifted, thereby moving lever 20 slightly farther to the left and allowing the hook 26 to drop below pin 27 and allowing the straight end 24 of the safety latch to fall and rest on the edge of lever 20, When the car body returns to center from dumping position, the weight of the latch 18 overcomes the weight of lever 20 so that the latch 18'falls and lever 20 moves to the right, until the safety latch 24: has fallen into the position shown in F ig. 2, where the lever 20 is in extreme 1 right'position and the safety latch 2A is resting on the lug 29 in lever 20. The safety latch 24 thus locks the lever 20 against operation, and the car cannot again be dumped until the pressure of spring 23 is relieved by the power'and safety latch 24 lifted toallow lever 20 to be movedv to the left. I

In the modified form shown in Figs. 5 to 10, the latch 18, lug 17 and rocking shaft 19 are substantially the same. In this form, the shaft '19 is rocked by a short lever 30 which carries a lateral extension 31 at its lower end, and the extension 31 is latched by a keeper 32 pivoted at 33 and connected by link 34 to hand lever 35 which is pivoted at'36. 37 isa lever which is pivoted on rock shaft 19, and which, as shown in Fig. 5, is held between the lateral extension 31 of arm 30 and against stop39 by spring 38.

The keeper 32 holds'arm 30 and rock shaft.

19 against movement. Fig. 6 represents the locked position, Fig. 7 shows the keeper lifted by link 31 and hand lever 35, leaving the operator free to pull lever 37 to the left to the position shown in Fig. 8, wherein the latch 18 has been lifted clear of lug 17. At

this time, the lower curved end' lO of the keeper 32 engages the lateral end 31 of arm 30 as shown in Fig.- 9, so that the operator cannow let go of the keeper lifting lever It will be observed that in, Fig. 7 the amount to which the keeper 32 can be lifted j as the arm 4-0 of keeper 32 engages with the lug 31, as shown in Fig. 9, the keeper 32 is held up automatically by reason of the limited by tlielug 31, but that as soon 1 beveled cooperating faces of arm 4-0 and lag 31, and the spring 38 returns the lever 37 to its original position. The function of the lever 37 is,-therefore, to lift the latch 13, while the keeper 32 when lifted,'through its arm 10 and lug 31 on arm 30 of rock shaft 19 holds thelatch 18 elevated inde pendent-1y of leverv 37.. As the curved sur face ll of main latch 18 is lifted by the movement of lug 17, the engagein'ent,be-gtween lug 31' on arm'3O of rock shaft 19 and the end 40 of keeper 32 is broken, and

the keeper32 drops onto lug 31 as shown in Fig.10. The latch 18 soon as it drops behind lug 17 upon return to center throws lug 31 in behind keeper 32,'thereby reston ing all the parts to original position.

By this form, it will be seen that tie operator lifts the latch 18 indirectly, by lever 23?, which lever then returns to its original position, and that there is no direct connec tion between the heavy latch 18 and any of the levers or latches which are operated by the operator, so that he is not liable to blows by reason of sudden movement.

In both formsit will be seen that a looking mechanism is provided which, after being manually released, is automatically set during the ensuing movement of the car body to automatically lock the car body when it moves to its predetermined or upright position. It will also be seen that the locking mechanismis itself held locked by the pressure of the buffer springs and can be released by the power. The length of the main latch 18 is proportioned to the length of the lug 17. so as to latch the car body in uprightposition whether the cylinder be set to dump on the right or onthe left, which is a novel feature of the present invention. It is also proportioned so'as not to drop behind lug 17 at the outer-dumped position, but could be so arranged to drop in case it be desired to lock a mechanism or car body at more than one point. By this mechanism it will also be seen that the looking means does not have to take the shock of stopping the moving car body at the locking point, which is a very important advantage, as these car bodies are frequently of very considerable mass and cannot be safely stopped by a'b-utments or direct engagement with the lock. It will also be seen that the latch prevents recoil of the abutment spring and bounding of the car body, as might otherwise happen.

Various modifications and changes in the specific construction herein described may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a movable car body, of a motor for moving said car body, locking means, manually operated means for releasing said locking means, and motor released means holding said locking means against manual movement.

2. In combination with a movable car body, a reversible motor moving said car body, controlling means for said motor, and locking means for holding said car body in a predetermined position and preventing said car body from being operated in a desired direction until the motor has been actuated in a reverse direction.

3. In combination with a movable car body, of a motor moving said car body, locking means therefor, means for holding said looking means aga nst release, means releasing said holding ,means by movement of said means for said motor, and means for hold-- ing said car body against diunping movement in either direction releasable by movement of the motor in the reverse direction.

5. In combination with a movable car body, a reversible motor for dumping said car body in opposite directions, controlling means for said motor, and means including a spring buffer for holding said car body against dumping movement in either direction releasable by movement of the motor in the reverse direction.

6. In combination with a car frame carrying a movable car body, a reversible motor for dumping said car body in opposite directions, controlling means for said motor, means including a spring buffer for checking the momentum of the car body in one direction, and a latch between said frame and said car body effective to hold the car body against recoil of the buffer and releasable by movement of the motor in a reverse direction.

7. In combination with a frame and a laterally movable car body, a motor for clumping' said car body in opposite directions, means for shifting the actuating connection between said motor and said car body to dump in either direction, means carried by the frame for yieldingly checking the momentum of the car body in returning from dumping position, said means being engaged by a part moving with the car body, and means effective upon checking of the momentum for holding the car body against recoil.

8. The combination with a movable car body,of means for locking said car body comprising a yielding abutment, a movable latch opposing said abutment, and means for relieving the pressure of said yielding abutment to enable said latch to be moved and the car body unlocked.

9. The combination with a. movable car body, of means for automatically locking said car body while moving comprising a yielding abutment limiting the movement of the car body and holding said locking means against release, a movable latch, and means moving with the car body and controlling the movement of said latch to locking position when said yielding abutment stops the car body.

10. The combination with a movable car body, of means for automatically locking said car body while moving comprising an abutment for limiting the movement of the car body and holding said locking means against release, a movable latch, and means moving with the car body and controlling the movement of said latch to locking position when said abutment stops the car body.

11. In combination with a movable car body, a member movable therewith, a looking latch engaging said member and moved thereby, a manually operated handle controlling said latch and unaflected by the movement of said latch by said member.

12. The combination with a movable car body, a membermovable therewith, a lock ing latch engaging said member and moved thereby, a manuallyoperated handle operating said latch and a lost motion connection betweensaid latch and said handle to allow movement of said latch by said member without afiecting said handle.

13. The combination with a movable car body, of reciprocatory actuating'motor, a yielding, abutment adapted to be engaged by the motor to limit movement of the car body,

and a latch for engaging the motor to prevent recoil of said abutment.

14-. The combination with a movable car body, of a yielding abutment for limiting the movement of the car body, means engaging a moving part and controlled thereby for preventing rebound of the body from said abutment and means cooperating with said abutment to hold said engaging means against release.

15. The combination witha movable car body, of a yielding abutment for limiting the movement of the car body, and locking means automatically preventing rebound of the car bodyifrom said yielding abutment and held against release by said abutment.

l6. The. combination with a tilting and bodilyiniovable car body, of a reciprocatory motor for actuating said car body to and from dumping position, a locking means,

and a yielding abutment adapted to been Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents,

gaged by a movable part to limit movement 7 of the car body, and automatically operative at a predetermined point to hold said locking means against movement.

17. The combination with a tilting and bodily movable car body, of a reciprocatory motor vfor actuating said car body to and from dumping position, a yielding abutment adapted to be engaged by a movable part to limit movement of the car body, means automatically operative at a predetermined point to lock said car body and motor against movement, and means for re leasing said locking connection upon applying power to said motor to compress the abutment.

18. The combination with a tilting and bodily movable car body, of a reciprocatory movable in opposite directions from upright,

to dumping position, of a motor having re lea'sable actuating engagement with said car body for dumping in one or the other direction and a yielding abutment. for limiting motion of the car body when approaching upright position from either side, and means for automatically locking the car body in upright position when the yielding abutment is compressed to a predetermined extent. f

In testimony whereofl afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses. V e A V I CARL P. ASTROM. lVitnesses: v V

J. S. \Voosann, G. N. KERR.

Washington, ID. (3, I 

